The HTC One looks great, but it will likely get swept away by the Galaxy S IV in three weeks

The early days of Android were exciting simply because just about every electronics manufacturer around tried their hand at building an Android smartphone. This led to a lot of truly bad devices (e.g., anything that came with early versions Motorola’s MOTOBLUR skin), but it also led to a lot of unexpected success stories such as HTC (2498) and its relatively successful DROID Incredible and EVO 4G models. But as the Android market evolved, it soon came to resemble how George Carlin described an average classroom full of children: “A few winners and a whole lot of losers.”

In addition to helping draw attention away from rivals’ products, this tactic also serves as a warning shot to the competition by saying, “You may think your newest device will help you stage a comeback but we’re about to blow you out of the water in just three weeks.” The tragedy is that the HTC One, no matter how terrific it is, will likely be swept away by Hurricane Samsung in mid-March.